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readerofdafuk's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
They are Coyote myths
I always like reading about Mythology. And the footnotes, foreword, and introduction to help explain the words and culture was very helpful.
Only downside is that these were not "authentic" myths since the initial publication tried to sanitize it for 1900s audience. But at the same time it was a collection of stories made purposefully for the 1900s, so the history behind the adaptation decisions more than makes up for it
I always like reading about Mythology. And the footnotes, foreword, and introduction to help explain the words and culture was very helpful.
Only downside is that these were not "authentic" myths since the initial publication tried to sanitize it for 1900s audience. But at the same time it was a collection of stories made purposefully for the 1900s, so the history behind the adaptation decisions more than makes up for it
gitli57's review against another edition
informative
3.0
This collection is primarily of historical interest. Mourning Dove is the pen name of Christine Quintasket, an Okanagan woman writer and activist who was encouraged (mainly by white men as part of the whole "disappearing Indians" project) to collect and publish the traditional stories of her People. Of course, to be suitable for publication and reading by white folks, the stories had to be shaped, edited and presented in a particular way. As Jay Miller puts it in the introduction, "despite claims of traditional authenticity, Mourning Dove's legends are not true to Salishan recitations. They have been sanitized, and the portions that she called 'ugly' have been removed. Nor are they as casual or spontaneous as they would be in native settings." It could be argued that they have been trivialized and robbed of their spiritual power in the process of being made suitable for white children's entertainment.
Christine Quintasket endured multiple periods in the residential schools and her People's traditional ways were being violently suppressed (they still are). Her editors and publishers were white men. She didn't have great options to choose from. At least she was part of the community whose stories she's sharing (unlike James Moody, for example, with his mostly bastardized "Cherokee stories"). And it is interesting to have an entire collection of stories from one tradition. There are multiple options available now for less sanitized versions of stories, but most of them are anthologies representing many different traditions.
As long as you know what it is going in, it's worth a read, especially as an example of where Indig folks were in the struggle for cultural preservation circa 1933 in the "great" Amurka.
Christine Quintasket endured multiple periods in the residential schools and her People's traditional ways were being violently suppressed (they still are). Her editors and publishers were white men. She didn't have great options to choose from. At least she was part of the community whose stories she's sharing (unlike James Moody, for example, with his mostly bastardized "Cherokee stories"). And it is interesting to have an entire collection of stories from one tradition. There are multiple options available now for less sanitized versions of stories, but most of them are anthologies representing many different traditions.
As long as you know what it is going in, it's worth a read, especially as an example of where Indig folks were in the struggle for cultural preservation circa 1933 in the "great" Amurka.
leopardseal's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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